Triple Berry Muffins

My aunt and uncle own a bed and breakfast in Portland, Maine (Brewster House–great place!). They get up early every morning to make breakfast, from scratch, for all their guests. She and I are a lot alike, in the sense that we both love to cook and continually look for better recipes for our favorite dishes. A month ago, we swapped some recipes–I gave her some brownie and scone recipes, and she sent muffins and new scone recipes that I can’t wait to try. This is the first of the recipes she sent me that I’ve tried. Boy, are they good. The muffins really plump up in the oven, and the good thing is that they keep their shape, instead of running over the top of the muffin tin, creating a flat top. I didn’t happen to have three different types of berries in my freezer, but I did have strawberries and blueberries, so that is what I made. Surprisingly, the strawberries turned out quite good–just make sure to cut them into smaller pieces. Otherwise, you’ll end up with half the muffin being a strawberry. The muffins will keep in an airtight container for up to three days.

Triple Berry Muffins
Makes 12 regular-sized muffins
2 ½ cups flour
¾ cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
zest of one orange
1 large egg, lightly beaten
¾ cup buttermilk
2/3 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups fresh or frozen berries (use a combination of blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, even strawberries)

(It’s still wonderful if you only have 1 or 2 varieties!)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray muffin cups or use paper liners.

1. In a large measuring cup or bowl, whisk together the egg, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla extract.

2. In another large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and orange zest. Gently fold in the berries. With a fork, fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir only until the ingredients are combined. Do not over mix!

3. Fill each cup almost full of batter. Place in the oven and bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the muffin comes out clean. Transfer the muffin tin to a wire rack and let it cool for about 5 minutes before removing each muffin from the pan. When completely cooled, right before serving, dust with powdered sugar.

Note: If using frozen berries, you may have to bake the muffins a little longer than the stated time.